Olympic comforts

One of the more curious pre-Olympic news items has to be the story about the regulation pillows that have been issued to British athletes by team officials to help them in their quest for medals. Apparently more than 500 "feather-like-down" pillows, made by Christy, Queen Victoria's favourite textile group and supplier of towels to Wimbledon, have been shipped to the athletes' village ahead of the team's arrival.





It's the first time that the British Olympic Association has issued pillows in the official kit bag. Simon Clegg, the team's chef de mission, explained that "Quality of sleep is so important, particularly for high performance athletes. Anyone who travels knows what impact a bad pillow can have in terms of pains and a poor night's sleep...They have had the opportunity to train on their pillows for the past fortnight". Extra long mattresses have also been provided for especially tall athletes - mainly swimmers and rowers.




What about the rest of us watching the Olympics from our sofas at home? May I suggest some stylish cushions from ShopCurious to help maximise your viewing experience. These unusual oriental inspired mini works of art by StyleCurious featured designer, Laura Berens, will ensure that you are sitting comfortably and in style.






If you can prize yourself away from your computer - unlike this computer addict in China - original, but rather sad.

Will you?

Bags of luck

One of the more light-hearted aspects of the Olympic Games is the choice of a mascot by the host nation. In Beijing, Han Meilin was charged with the onerous task of choosing an original mascot for the 2008 Summer Games and presumably having to please quite a few people with differing opinions ... It was eventually decided that, as it isn't possible for a single figure to represent China's intense and diversified culture, it's necessary to have no less than five mascots rolled into one. 'Fuwa' (or 'Friendlies') is a symbol that carries a message of friendship, peace and harmony and conveys blessings from China to children all over the world.


The mascot embodies the natural characteristics of four of China's most popular animals - the fish, the panda, the Tibetan antelope and the swallow, as well as the Olympic Flame. Each of the Fuwa has its own symbolic meaning and the abbreviations of their names combined sounds like a phrase meaning "Beijing welcomes you".


At ShopCurious, where we specialise in rather unique accessories, we've just got some stylish new faux snakeskin clutch bags and envelope bags with their own lucky charms in the form of carved Chinese jade buckles with hidden inner meaning, whether it be wealth (left) or longevity (right) - hopefully I haven't got these the wrong way around? There's even a bag with the symbol of two dragons (above left) - the very identity and essence of Asia itself. We've also a mother of pearl longevity pendant, for added good fortune.

So many symbols to choose from, so much potential luck - I'm just surprised the Beijing Olympic Commitee didn't choose eight Fuwa instead of five.
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Fans of cool style

Fans are a stylish way of keeping comfortably cool during the hot weather we're experiencing and that visitors to the Olympics in Beijing are likely to encounter. They're also a tried and tested method of creating a bit of breeziness too, having been around for quite a while - at least 3,000 years in fact.

If you haven't visited the Fan Museum at Greenwich, I highly recommend it. You can learn all about the history and even the anatomy (left) of the fan. The first types of folding fans were inspired by those brought in by merchant traders from China and Japan. Fans were very popular in the 18th and 19th centuries and continued to be imported from the Far East, as well as being produced in Europe.

Fans were originally associated with nobility, but gradually became more widely available - though they've always remained something of a fashion statement, if not a showcase for artists ( another case of fashion meeting art in history).


We've got a selection of vintage fans on sale at ShopCurious: from the decorative hand painted oriental variety to dramatic flirty feathered types. These unique accessories make an exotic addition to any outfit and are also great as an unusual gift.

Peacock feathers were often used to embellish Chinese fans (see above right). In China, the peacock is a symbol of beauty and dignity. An old Chinese legend tells the tale of a daughter of a top military commander who painted a peacock on an ornamental screen and promised to marry the first man who could hit the peacock twice with arrows whilst running. This resulted in the curious term "Selection by hitting the bird screen" - a Chinese euphemism for finding a husband.

For some modern day advice on this, click on the pic to the right. Alternatively, you could simply use your fan to create an air of mystery and allure ... and await the response.
Will you?

Preparing for Beijing

Only ten days to go to the Olympics, so I thought we should have a few blogs about getting ready for the big event. I'm afraid we aren't currently selling any respiratory masks, but wholesale suppliers are welcome to get in touch.

What we do have is a wonderfully unique ammonite pendant, which could come in very handy. Apparently, the original discus used by ancient Greeks in their Olympics was a fossilized ammonite. So, if your local pub is running an Olympic quiz offering a gold medal to the winner (might be worth a bob or two these days) then do remember this curious bit of trivia.

It's also worth noting that the pentathlon was introduced for the first time at the 18th Olympiad in 708 BC, probably by the Spartans as a method of training soldiers. It consisted of running the length of the stadium, throwing the spear, the discus and wrestling (did they miss one out?) Anyway, now we have the modern pentathlon and the throwing events seem to be reserved for the decathlon - if that's not too ancient an activity for this year's Olympic Games ... I can't spot it on the schedule of events can you?

I'm beginning to feel exhausted just thinking about all these sports. I hope the athletes are getting some good rest in before the competition begins. In preparation I'd recommend a long relaxing soak with an exotic bath salt infusion from ShopCurious.






Afterwards, they can pop on a stylish vintage embroidered Chinese silk dressing gown for a spot of meditation before bye-byes (not forgetting their hot water with honey and lemon of course).

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The height of fashion

Current fashion trends are all about contrast. The most slavishly style savvy mix cheap and chic chain store bargains with luxury designer brands to maximum effect. Those who are even more curiously clever somehow manage to locate truly individual or limited edition pieces that are not only original, but have a timeless style ... something that can be worn in ten years time and will still look good.

The trick to finding the best things for that eclectic look is to be ShopCurious, for instance you might:
1) spot something special and in limited supply before anyone else does and keep it in your wardrobe to bring out as and when desired, or
2) become the curator of your own vintage collection - finding top quality stylish vintage clothing and accessories in rather offbeat and unique places, like our website.


Talking of contrasts, the coming season might pose a bit of a dilemma on the shoe front - with both flats and stilettos as the trend du jour, which do we choose to wear and when? Well, you can always go for comfort, but unless you have fabulously long legs (think Carla Bruni or Elle Macpherson), you'd better make sure your choice of footwear is as aesthetically pleasing as possible, since the low heel option rarely stacks up in the glamour stakes.









If you opt for style over comfort, we have some very elegant vintage stilettos, evening shoes and strappy sandals that are beautifully designed, utterly feminine and surprisingly easy to walk in.

Not just real cute, but curiously collectable too, are several pairs of early Tom Ford spike stiletto heeled Gucci shoes from around 1996-7. These much fought over shoes were in very limited supply and subject to a hugely long waiting list - but they're every bit as hot today as they were all those years ago.

Look out for more sexy high heels arriving at ShopCurious very soon.
Will you?

Food for thought

On to New Designers part 2, covering the likes of product design, furniture, graphic design, illustration and architecture, with exhibits from students throughout the UK. There was so much talent out there and some really creative and original ideas were in evidence. I was totally overawed. I've chosen to give a snapshot of a few of the things that were curiously amusing - with the serious message that new designers are often young graduates - who, whilst hoping to be iconic designers of the future, are only at the beginning of a long journey. This blog is mainly about what goes into our stomachs, because food simply has to be on all our plates every day and it's big in the press too, which seems to count for everything these days - so you're probably best blaming them rather than the government for food price inflation - and for inspiring so many food-related ideas at New Designers. Perhaps even Gordon Brown, a man with a certain amount of experience, who gave the opening speech at New Designers last year, could learn a thing or two from this educational designer plate for bulimics (above right). Waste not, want not! Whilst Gordon masticates on corn stuffed with caviar, kelp-flavoured cold Kyoto beef and diced fatty flesh of tuna (let alone the next five courses, no wonder he looks a slightly unwell), ShopCurious considers what's potentially on offer to the rest of us from new designers who will be shaping the way we eat tomorrow: Zeke Abry from Leeds Metropolitan University has come up with the idea for a kitchen-based 'information centre' designed to promote healthy eating, with calorie consumption and dietary advice, plus help with creating shopping lists (in conjunction with major supermarkets of course) and handy tips for meal preparation. What I really liked about this idea was the ability to film your (excuse the Americanism) 'mom's home-cooking' for posterity and keep it on your information centre - I do hope he thinks up a more inspiring name for this. What's more this device also doubles up as a baby, or perhaps an emo monitor in the meantime (right). There's multi-tasking for you. Is this a man vs. women thing or what? Girls, I suggest you start growing herbs out of your purpose built kitchen table immediately: Adele Bird, left, has created the very thing. Our curiously corpulent future (dismissing any possibility of global recession, food shortages and mass starvation) sparked the imagination of a number of designers and one design that caught my eye was Nicholas Morris's rather prettily designed hydro cycle (left), the base of which is half filled with water. It's rather like a modern version of the pedalo, which could be used in swimming pools and lakes to kick start kids into action, if they're not too busy sharpening their knives. And those were also on display. Though these unusual designer cactus knives by Andrew Seward (above and left) at least have a sense of humour. As do the designer beer mats by Jamie Wood (right and below left). If all else fails, one could always live on beer. A popular favourite with everyone from young graduates and new designers to Gordon Brown alike. Will you?

Blue Peter badges...

Following my recent trip to the Henley Royal Regatta last week, I'm still mulling over the fashions that were on display. The men were somewhat like peacocks: wearing blazers, boaters and showing off their prized badges. It always amazes me how much men love to belong to clubs and wear badges - it's often a football or a golf club, but in the case of Henley it's a rowing affiliation, or perhaps a gentleman's club. Could wearing all this MCC rowing club regalia (left) be the male equivalent of a woman wearing all her jewellery at the same time?





Some of the most prized badges at Henley are those for the Steward's Enclosure (above right and left) and the Leander Club (the small round badge on the right). The card badges are merely to allow access for the day's racing, but the metal badges offer the right to attend meetings for the duration of the regatta.




There's generally a lot of attention to detail in dressing for Henley - it seems that men are proud of their labels - from those on their jackets (left) to their Leander Club signature socks (right) - and for others there is always the badge of office (below left).








Some smart fellows even accessorize their outfits with their own unique trophies. The lovely chaps from the Bedford Rowing Club (right) meet each year on Friday at Henley for what call 'flower day' where they adorn the lapels of their jackets with huge floral corsages. One has even created his own badge of honour in the form of a very stylish and totally individual rosette (below left). How very ShopCurious!




I simply love going to Henley and seeing the variety of fashions on view - for men it's so curiously chic.
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